Women's Body Shape Can Affect How Susceptible They Are to Type 2 Diabetes

The gene KLF14 regulates body fat storage in women which can affect how susceptible a women is to type 2 diabetes. Most of the genes that are associated with type 2 diabetes relate to the pancreas, but, unlike these genes, the KLF14 gene relates to fat tissue. A particular version of this gene leads to storing more fat around the hips and causes women with larger hips to normally have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. On the other hand, people, in general, who have most of their weight stored at their midsection have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. The different variations of this particular gene may also be a factor in people's response to insulin. This gene, however, does not effect how heavy an individual might become, just where their body fat will be stored.
The original article explains the correlation between the KLF14 gene and the risk for type 2 diabetes. It is helpful to estimate risk of diabetes by just looking in a mirror. Although it is obviously better to eat clean and live a healthy lifestyle, an easy indicator of diabetes like placement of body fat is extra incentive not to grab for that extra slice of cake. Hopefully further research on this particular gene can lead to new treatments.

New Clues To How Gene Affects Women's Body Shape

This article brought caught my attention as it describes how women with larger hips tend to have a
lower risk of type II diabetes. It's all linked to the gene KLF14. This gene seems to be master regulator of how and where a woman's body stored fat. Researchers have done some work and figured out exactly how the gene variant works. It regulates hundreds of other genes active in fat cells and changes the structure and function of those cells. Obviously obesity is linked to type II diabetes but this article describes the importance of body fat distribution. The KLF14 gene is linked to body fat distribution and not obesity which is why it provides a decreased risk. Genetics do play a big role in someone developing type II diabetes but there are many factors that you can control to prevent this disease. KLF14 is expressed in fat tissue which means the gene affects peoples sensitivity to insulin thus providing positive results. Further research of this gene could lead to treatments for diabetes or even better solutions to manage diabetes besides insulin shots and the harmful medicine out there today.



http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2015/10/10/new-clues-to-how-gene-affects-womens-body-shape-diabetes-risk

http://www.nature.com/nrg/journal/v15/n1/box/nrg3575_BX2.html

 

Having a Big Belly Can be Associated with Developing Type 2 Diabetes

A gene called KLF14 is one of many genes associated with the risk of women developing type 2 diabetes.  This gene declares where women store fat in their bodies and is only expressed in those fat cells.  Some women with this gene have slimmer hips while others have wider hips (pear shaped).  Studies have shown that women with larger hips tend to have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.  Wider hips are the more ideal trait in a woman possessing this gene because of the way fat is distributed throughout her body, especially in her midsection.

Obesity is a key risk of type 2 diabetes but the way fat is distributed throughout one’s body also has a role in the development of type 2 diabetes.  People who carry weight around their waist are particularly at risk for diabetes and heart disease.  Studies done by international researchers give more insight as to how the KLF14 gene works.  It appears to regulate hundreds of other genes active in fat cells as well as change the structure and function of those fat cell genes.  These findings suggest that women with narrower hips are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes because the way belly fat is distributed around their midsection.  Belly fat would protrude more in a woman with narrower hips.  She would hold more fat in her belly area.  Many would think that diabetes is only associated with a defective pancreas and the cells with in it, but KLF14 is only expressed in fat cells of the body. 

It is very intriguing that the way fat is distributed on a woman is associated with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.  Many of the people in my family are diabetic, especially the women.  Looking at it now, the traits I described above are what some of the diabetic women in my family possess; thin, slender hips, and a large mid-section.  Good diets and exercise regimens could prevent other women in my family from developing type 2 diabetes.

To read more click here  and here

New Clues to How Gene Affects Women's Body Shape, Diabetes Risk

   The fat cells that just sit around your waist is not only there for storage. Researchers have shown that there is a gene called KLF14, that is associated with the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. The KLF14 gene has the ability to regulate where and how to store fat in the body. It can control other fat cells as well by changing their structure and function. The different KLF14 variants do not affect overall body weight, it is only related to fat distribution. Women with the one version of the gene variant tend to have slimmer hips, while women with another have the "pear-shaped".
 
   It is not just the women with larger hips that tend to get Type 2 Diabetes. Those women are actually are at a lower risk than women who have narrow hips. Studies have shown that fat distribution is also an important factor in Type 2 Diabetes than just obesity alone. So women who have the "apple-shaped" body versus women with the "pear-shaped" body need to be aware of what they are eating and how to exercise regularly.

  Dr. Caroline Apovian, a spokeswoman for the Obesity Society, said that the KLF14 variant seems to only influence women, but it does not mean that there are no genes that are associated with fat storage and diabetes for men. Men have a larger waistline than women, so they can also develop diabetes and heart-related diseases.

"Diabetes is one of the top diseases Americans tend to get and I think this is a wonderful article for people to read because it informs you that EVERYONE is capable of getting Type 2 Diabetes. If someone has the KLF14 gene, I do not think it means that you are guaranteed the disease. By monitoring how much of what you eat and getting proper exercise, it will be less likely for you to get diabetes. No matter how busy your schedule may be, it is very important to fit at least 30mins of moderate or intense level of some kind of workout."
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Obesity and Related Illnesses Can Be Turned Off

Approximately half a billion people in the world today are obese. Researchers from King's College London and the University of Oxford discovered that the KLF14 gene causes obesity and is linked to diabetes and cholesterol.  Fat samples were obtained from 776 female twins.  They found that the KLF14 gene acts as a trans controller as it influences the behavior of distant genes inside fat tissue.  KLF14 is inherited from the mother and father, however the fathers gene is turned off and only the mothers copy is expressed.  Scientists could use this information to improve treatment of obesity related disease and possibly turn them off simultaneously with the gene expression.